Drawn By Destiny
by LyraCat
Summary: An alternate first meeting between young Link and Zelda in Ocarina of Time. Link encounters an adventurous young girl of whom he makes quick friends and realizes that they are bound by more than just a dangerous and coincidental meeting.


_Our paths crossed today  
This isn't our last meeting  
It's only the first_

The Market square was bustling with people, more than he had ever seen in his life. Sounds and smells came from every open-air stall, people speaking in not only Hylian, but also a variety of languages that the boy's pointed ears had never before heard.

It was almost too much at once. Link took a left into a small alleyway. A man was asleep against a wall with empty bottles surrounding him, but other than that Link was alone. He walked over to a crate and sat down on top of it, pulling out a small leather bag of seeds. The last food he had, given to him by Saria.

"We'll be friends forever… Won't we?"

Her final words echoed in his head. Inadvertently he reached into the pouch on his belt where the wooden ocarina and slingshot – memories of his friend and now deceased father figure – lie.

How was he supposed to find this "Princess of Destiny" the Deku Tree spoke of if he had never met a princess? He crunched a few seeds. He had never been outside the Forest before. This seemed like to big a task for a boy as small as he. Pondering his future he reached into the bag for another seed, only to grasp air. Sighing, he tied the bag back to his belt, hopping off the crate and causing the sword and shield strapped to his back to jingle.

His stomach growled.

Link decided to set off again, not knowing where he would go; only that he needed food. He took only a single step before a young girl, probably the same age as he, ran around the corner towards him. Their eyes met for a brief moment.

"…Help…" a voice echoed in his head. Had the girl said it? Her lips had never moved. Before he could ask she sped towards him, almost tripping over one of the many bottles surrounding the sleeping man. She passed him, but as Link looked over his shoulder, he saw she had stopped, cowering against the Deku Shield on his back. Before he had a chance to question her distress, two ungroomed men rounded the corner.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty…" One called. "Now where could our little aristo-cat have run off to?"

The girl let out a quiet gasp, ducking lower behind Link. He didn't need another sign. The boy drew his sword and faced the men courageously as they approached.

"Oh? What have we here? It looks like our little house bred kitty has a feral friend." The other man laughed. "No use in hiding, little one. We know you're there. We can smell the money."

So it was money these men wanted? Disgusting. How dare they gang up on a lone girl? Link gripped the sword tighter, feeling the leather wrapped handle against his palms. The men noticed.

"So he bears his claws… well then. We'll just have to get involved in this little cat-fight, now won't we? I can handle this one alone," the first one said.

The one who had been doing all the talking reached for Link but the boy was fast. He slashed the man's arm. He recoiled, letting out a string of worlds the two children shouldn't have heard at such an age. The second man took this moment to leave, figuring a few rupees weren't worth the trouble of a doctor's bill. Furious now, the injured man kicked towards Link, knocking the boy's sword aside, causing it to slide against the ground until it hit an empty bottle near the still sleeping man.

"What will you do now without your claws, boy?" The man snarled, gripping his bleeding arm. If Link dove for the sword now, the girl would be wide open. He slowly reached behind him and unbuttoned his pouch.

Unbeknownst to Link, the girl saw him reach for the slingshot. Her eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the wooden ocarina as he drew his second weapon.

"A toy? What are you going to do with that?" the man asked sarcastically. Only now that he had drawn his weapon did Link notice that he had no ammo. In his earlier hunger he had eaten all the Deku Seeds. The girl had noticed his predicament and placed something smooth with sharp edges in his free hand. Without looking, Link nocked it in the slingshot, drawing it and aiming towards the man's forehead. The man squinted; trying to see what ammo the boy was using that caused it to reflect light. A moment before Link let the ammo fly, the man's eyes widened.

"A green rupee?!"

Immediately after the words left his mouth, the single gem flew from the slingshot, hitting the man between the eyes. A small welt began to form after the impact. He grimaced, leaned over to pick up the rupee, mumbled something about "it wasn't worth it," and then spun on his heel, walking back the way he came and kicking aside an empty bottle.

After the man disappeared around the corner, the girl let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Link turned to her and placed his slingshot back in the pouch. He noticed the girl watched closely as he did so. After he had buttoned it closed, their blue eyes met for the first time since the men appeared.

"Oh!" She gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. She looked over Link's shoulder and walked past him towards the man who had somehow managed to sleep through the entire episode. She lifted the sword from the cobblestones.

"This is yours, I believe," she said, walking back and handing it to her hero. "I apologize for the trouble. I should have known going out would only put someone in harms way, but I couldn't very well stay cooped up on such a wonderful day, now could I?" Link slid the sword into its sheath on his back. From the way she spoke and the men chasing after her, she must be wealthy.

He finally got a good chance to look at her. She wore bonnet that covered most of her blond hair and matched her ankle length pink and white dress. Compared with his grimy green tunic and mud-covered boots he wore, it was obvious even to a boy who had never left the forest of the class difference between the two.

"Excuse me miss, but…" he began, only to be cut off.

"Ah, yes, your reward. So sorry for forgetting," she pulled out something from the folds of her dress and clamped her hand around it. With her other hand she grabbed his, turning the palm upward. She placed her closed hand over his, letting whatever was hidden inside her small fist drop into his palm. It was smooth, just like her soft hands, opposite of Link's, rough with living in the woods.

She pulled her hands away and Link's eyes widened as the sun caught the purple rupee, something he had never before seen with his own eyes and only heard of from Mido, who claimed he had one himself.

"Is it not enough?" She asked worriedly.

"Th-thank you," he stuttered, surprised from the gift. "This is plenty," after staring at it for a few moments more he slid it into his pouch with the ocarina and slingshot. It was at this time his stomach growled.

"You're hungry… Here, let us go for food. I know a vendor who will gladly share his wares with me free of charge," she took his hand, leading him from the alley back into the crowded marketplace. On his own Link would have been lost in the ocean of people, but the girl deftly made her way through the crowd towards a corner stall.

"Oh-ho! If it isn't the little miss! It looks like she has a friend today," said the plump man behind the counter as the two approached.

"Yes, and he saved me. Might you have some apples to share?"

"Saved you? Now what games have you been up to, little one?" He asked with a stern look. "Apples I have a plenty. Take your pick," the man said, his face softening. As the two spoke, Link looked over the foods displayed before him. Various fruits and vegetables he had never seen in Kokiri Forest.

"Nothing much. Oh, I'll take these two, alright?" The man nodded as the girl grabbed two apples near the front of the display. She handed one to Link, who inspected the new fruit. The girl once more took his hand, leading him to the side of the stall where crates were stacked. She climbed the pile, sitting near the top and gesturing for Link to do the same. He scaled the crates to join her. Once he had gotten situated next to the girl who had already begun to chew her apple, he looked out over the marketplace.

"You're from the forest, aren't you?" The girl asked, taking another bite into her apple and looking at the green clad child. Link nodded, pulling his gaze from the brightly colored crowds and slowly turning back to her as he took a bite of his own fruit. Never tasting an apple before, his mouth watered at the sweet juiciness. "Your ocarina," the girl continued speaking, looking at his pouch. "I have one as well. Not with me at the time, but it's ceramic of the deepest blue, with a gold engraving on the neck."

She truly must come from a well off family if she had such a high quality instrument, Link thought. Only now was he realizing he had never caught the girl's name. Just as he was about to ask, a woman with blue and silver armor covering her torso and an eye insignia adorning her chest appeared from the sea of people. Her arms were crossed over her front and she had an austere look about her.

"Zelda," she said sternly, stopping in front of the two children. "Do you know how much trouble you have caused?"

"But Impa!" The girl – Zelda – replied. "How do you expect me to stay indoors when there is so much happening outside?" She exclaimed, kicking the crates with her heels.

"You have the courtyard," Impa replied unsympathetically. Link silently watched their exchange, periodically taking bites of his apple.

"That isn't the same! There are no people! Plus that man Ganondorf is always watching me. It's unsettling!"

"Is this any way for you to behave?" Impa asked, almost motherly as her face softened slightly. Zelda took a deep breath to calm herself.

"No. I am sorry Impa. I'll go back with you."

"And your friend?" Impa said, nodding to Link. He stopped chewing his apple.

"You will do alright, won't you?" Zelda turned to him. Link swallowed the bite of fruit in his mouth.

"Yes, thank you… Zelda," he said, trying the name for the first time. Saying it felt right and caused a smile to cross his face. Something he hadn't done since he had left the forest. Zelda laughed as she deftly jumped down from the crate and stood next to Impa, handing the woman her partially eaten apple.

"That's wonderful! Might I ask for your name in return?"

"Link."

"Link… Strange. Somehow it seems familiar… Thank you, Link. May the Goddesses let our paths cross again!"

Impa took Zelda's small hand and led her away from Link and the stall. The girl looked over her shoulder and with her free hand she waved good-bye. Link waved back to her, taking another bite from his apple as he watched the mysterious girl and her guide disappear into the constant flow of people.

For some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that he and Zelda were bound to meet again, the ocarina she spoke of setting them down a long and intertwined journey with an all so familiar, yet distant, ending.

* * *

 **Only after I had completed this and tallied up the words did I notice they total 1,998.**

 **Funny how that works out, huh?**

 **Although I didn't play _Ocarina_ until the remake came around, I still somehow feel a bit of nostalgia whenever I pick up the 3DS version or play the original. That game truly is magical, and I hope that you were able to feel some of that whimsical nature in this story.**

 **Please tell me what you think!**


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